That means your texts will be sent insecurely via the antiquated SMS system. (If your “send” arrow button is green or your outgoing messages appear in a “green bubble,” this means your recipient is not using iMessage. You’ll know you’re about to send an iMessage if the round “send” arrow button is blue, and you’ll notice that your messages will have a “blue bubble” as well. It’s important to understand that you can send both iMessage (secure) and SMS (insecure) via the Messages app. While the platform is called iMessage, the Apple app is called Messages. There are a couple of important caveats that may convince you to use an alternative platform, however. There are a few other settings for iOS and iPadOS, and if you have an Apple Watch, you can choose whether dictated messages are sent as text or audio, and set some default replies that you can tap on the screen of your watch. On iOS, you can also set a low quality image mode, and you can enable text message forwarding, so SMS messages sent to your iPhone can be forwarded to your other devices. And you can enable or disable read receipts. There aren’t many settings you can adjust. You can choose which phone numbers and email addresses people can use to contact you. Sign into your device with your Apple ID, or create a new one, and you’re good to go.

More on iMessage security can be found in this Apple Platform Security document.įor Apple device users, setting up and using iMessage is very easy. Only you and the person you’re messaging can get to the contents of an iMessage conversation. Using end-to-end encryption by default, it is very secure. It is by far the most convenient way to securely send messages for users of Apple devices. Offered by Apple, iMessage has been available on iOS since 2011, macOS since 2012, and watchOS since 2015. iMessageĬompatibility: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS Here are five secure messaging apps you can use, on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, as well as on other platforms. Messaging apps can be a great way to send sensitive information to others, even to send passwords or other user credentials. Unlike in the early days of messaging, such as SMS and AIM, many of today’s messaging apps are secure, with end-to-end encryption protecting your conversations.

Messaging has the advantage of being more conversational than email, and more immediate. More and more people communicate via messaging apps, as phone calls are seen as old-fashioned, and email can be too complicated. Jay Vrijenhoek, Kirk McElhearn and Joshua Long Security & Privacy 5 Encrypted Messaging Apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad

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